Four on Friday...

1. Well, for once the forecasters got it right, and it's snowing this morning. *sigh*

2. Parent-teacher conferences went pretty well. E is a rock star in her class, and her teacher thinks she's amazing. :D That's always a plus, right? *and* apparently she's well ahead in math, something I've not expected...of course, that means that we'll have to be on top of it to make sure she's challenged (our school does a rotten job with differentiating in math). It's harder to tell what's going on with D (good thing he talks to me about it), since his conferences were 5 minutes (with timer) per teacher -- which meant I really learned nothing. One of his teachers spent the whole time telling me her plan for the class...which I honestly did not need to know. I wanted to know about my son. Oh, well. But one did tell me about D, and he also shared how D (and the other perfectionists) were forcing him to restructure his teaching style -- yep, that's my boy ;) The best news is what we'd already learned: D has now been placed in an online academy for math (through the district). Supposedly, he will never again have to be tested in math (until he graduates high school, that is) -- yay!!!

3. We also had our first (maybe only?) meeting for middle school last night. Around here, things are weird for middle school. When I was a kid, everyone had one choice -- all the neighborhood schools fed to one middle school which fed to one high school. Nowadays, there are a slew of middle schools, and we have to choose between them. We are all guaranteed our area school (if we want it), but there are three other options along with that. Sooooo, turns out our area school isn't great. It's definitely not a great fit for D, as they only offer math through algebra (which he will be taking as a 7th grader) -- which means we would have to drive him to the high school for math in 8th grade. NOT something we're interested in doing. Therefore, we are looking at the 3 other schools. One is a GT school, which seems like it would work (it's also a guarantee, since D is in the GT program) -- except for the fact that the GT school has a gen ed population which is...well, rough, for lack of better word. The two are at opposite ends of the spectrum, and that means that there are serious (and sometimes police-involved) conflicts. So that's out (in our opinion). Then another is supposedly a fantastic school (goes through 12th), but the homework requirements are 3 hours a night. Um, no. They tell people that it's 3 hours for 'regular' kids; 5 for perfectionists. Double no. Which leaves us with the school we attended last night. On paper, it's a perfect fit...but it's an option school, which means all the students are chosen through a lottery. *sigh* Because of circumstances surrounding one of the elementary schools in our artic area (the 6th graders went to the middle school -- the one with no math beyond algebra -- this year), we do have a better-than-normal chance of getting in. But it's still unknown, and we won't hear until January. The meeting last night was sparsely attended, but there are two more meetings (ack). About 1/4 of the kids from D's class want this school (most are going to the GT school) -- and only a handful of the gen ed population seem interested. I'm hopeful that this means there won't be as many applicants this year...and now we wait. More good news about this school -- I asked after the talk if D would have to take the required math placement test since he's in this virtual academy. The answer: "No. We'll put him right where he finishes." Yes! Not only has he had enough testing (to last the rest of his school career), but we were concerned that he'd test out of algebra...and we just don't need that. We'll make sure he doesn't go further than the start of algebra -- we've already made it clear that we want him ready for algebra next year, and nothing more. It's complicated enough now. Other good news, he also won't have to take the honors' test -- all GT kiddos are automatically assigned into the honors class (not sure if that will be good, but whatever). In my head, I'm believing that he'll end up at the best possible school for him...in my heart, though, I'm nervous. It's hard to have no say and to simply trust, no? His bff is also hoping for this school...

4. Today it's back to work -- and I have a bunch of little things to take care of. Those days are always a bit nerve-wracking, as I tend to forget at least one thing. I know, I should make a list...:)